Estate Planning

EPIC, or Estate Planning, Individually Centered, helps you answer key questions and develop strategies to address the key financial decisions you and your family face.

The EPIC approach begins with you and your spouse or partner in the center of the estate plan. You’ve worked hard to build and maintain a legacy, and you deserve to protect it for your descendants.

Concerns for your children.The structure of the nuclear family has changed over the years, so it is essential that an estate plan encompass all potential family types. Picture your children, step-children, adoptive children, et al, all around you in their own circle:

The final, outer circle represents the community in which you live. Your community could include religious organizations, public charities, your alma mater or a fraternal organization. Picture your community surrounding your family, surrounding you and your spouse or partner and the EPIC concept emerges:

An EPIC approach to Estate Planning

Recent changes in estate taxes have changed the face of estate planning. With fewer estate holders subject to estate taxes, some people think estate planning is a thing of the past. In reality, the recent changes in estate taxation have provided the opportunity for individuals to start earlier and maximize their estate plans.

But there are still questions that need to be answered.

FOUR THREATS TO YOUR EPIC: Every EPIC has its challenges. You should be aware of the challenges to accomplishing your estate planning objectives: taxes, creditors, spending and death.

1.TAXES Traditional estate planning has focused more on estate taxes. However, as a result of new tax laws, more people will be affected by income taxes than estate taxes. EPIC reviews your estate plan in order to make it as tax-efficient as possible by accounting for both income and estate taxes.

2.CREDITORS Protecting your legacy from creditors is an important aspect of estate planning. EPIC reviews your estateplan in order to use the appropriate amount of protection for these three areas of protection: • You • Your spouse or partner • Your descendants

4.DEATH Dying prematurely can leave your loved ones with a sudden loss of income and uncertainty about how to pay off existing debt, cover basic needs and achieve future goals. Beyond these material needs, EPIC is also about: • Passing on your values, hopes and dreams to your descendants. • The memories you create with your family and friends. • The impact your actions and material wealth have on your community through charitable giving and volunteering.